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Rosales returns as Hairston lands on DL

Rosales returns as Hairston lands on DL

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By Mark Sheldon
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MLB.com |

CHICAGO -- Sent back to Triple-A Louisville by the Reds over the weekend, infielder Adam Rosales never expected to be surrounded this week by the ivy walls of Wrigley Field, the ballpark he frequented as a young Cubs fan.

But in a twist of fate on Wednesday, Rosales was recalled when Jerry Hairston Jr. went back on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore right hamstring. Players usually must wait 10 days to return to the Majors after being sent down, except when there's an injury.

Rosales made his big league debut last week while Joey Votto was on the bereavement list and went 1-for-5 -- all in pinch-hitting appearances. In the visitors' clubhouse while being welcomed back by Reds teammates on Wednesday, Rosales couldn't stop grinning. He grew up in nearby Park Ridge, Ill., and attended Maine High School.

"I was hoping they would keep me around the extra few days so I could make it to Wrigley Field," Rosales said. "This is my heaven on Earth. Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, Jerome Walton, Luis Salazar, Doug Dascenzo ... I can name all of them. These were my heroes growing up with the Cubbies. I'm bleeding Reds right now, though."

In 115 games for Louisville, Rosales is batting .289 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs. He had three hits and two RBIs for the Bats in a win on Tuesday to extend his Triple-A hitting streak to nine games.

"It was good to be back in Louisville, though, to keep learning," Rosales said. "It's exciting to be in that [International League] race."

Hairston was batting .338 in 63 games this season, but has missed most of the second half with the same hamstring injury. He returned from the DL on Aug. 1 but has been limited to only three starts since as the injury hadn't fully recovered.

"You hate to see Jerry going down," manager Dusty Baker said. "It'd get better and it'd get worse. Finally, we had to DL him."

Baker didn't commit to giving Rosales more playing time during his second big league stint, but hoped to get him in a game during the Cubs series.

"I'll try to work him in the right situation, right time and right place," Baker said. "At this point, you'd be substituting one young guy for another young guy. I'll try to get him at-bats, especially in Chicago. I like to have guys play in their hometown."

Rosales, who drove to the ballpark from his parents' house on Wednesday, scrambled to get 32 tickets for friends and family to watch him play.

"I had to squeeze them in," Rosales said. "There are a lot of people that wanted to come. It's going to be expensive, but to me, this is priceless. You can't put a price on a ticket."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.